A child receives a health check at a government school in Yangon.

THE health condition of a mother-to-be can effect the wellbeing of her child and women should be careful to take care of their body after puberty, according to a local paediatrician.

“To have a mentally and physically developed child, women should take care of their health since the age of puberty,” said Dr Daw Khin Mar Aye, senior consultant paediatrician (Retired) of Yangon Health Division.

When women are pregnant they should consult with a doctor and monitor the progress of the pregnancy under their supervision.

“Pregnant women must be weighed, immunised and checked for diseases as soon as they know that they are pregnant. After giving birth, these records will form part of the medical history of mother and the child, which is very important to doctors so they can give the correct treatment when needed.”

She said that keeping accurate medical records, breast feeding until the age of six months, immunisation, recording the child’s devel-opment are all very important tasks for new parents.

“Parents should take note of events such as when their child begins to sleep on their chest, when their child speaks. If these activities are delayed, this can suggest that the child needs to get treatment. Early prevention is very important and nowadays, medical checkups can be done very easily,” Dr Daw Khin Mar Aye said.

“Babies need to be breast fed by their mother up to the age of six month. If they get their mother’s milk at this time, the immune system of the child will be more healthy. After that, they may need additional nutrition,” she said.

She also said that at the time of feeding additional nutrition, the baby may suffer from diarrhoea and, if so, they should be given proper treatment.

Ma Myat Noe, a mother of one-year-old daughter, agreed that regular health checks were important.

“I went to a paediatrician as soon as I have pregnant and I saw the doctor each month until my daughter was six months old,” Ma Myat Know said, adding that she still takes her daughter to the doctor regularly for check ups. “I have always followed the directions of the doctor, and my daughter has always been free from ill health.”

Daw Thet Htar, a mother of a 12-year-old daughter, said she thought it was important parents did not take the health of their children for granted.

“We should not expect our children to always be in good health so we have to be careful,” she said. “For examp-le, my daughter always strug-gled at school, even though I know she is bright. I never thought it could be because she had a health problem when she was in the fifth standard, she told me that she had headache whenever she read.”

“So I checked her eyes and found out that she has poor vision. So it just shows we shouldn’t neglect the health of our children. Every body should take regular medical checkups, regardless of their age,” she said.